Why we say “cis” and “cisgender”
Lately I’ve been seeing more complaints than usual about the terms cis and cisgender. People say that these words are just “woke.” That they’re made up, and aren’t “real.” That people shouldn’t be “forced” to use these terms to describe themselves.
So let’s take a look at why these words exist, why they might not feel “natural” just yet, and why we should use them anyway.
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My first principle of inclusive language is “Reflect reality.” Inclusive language reflects reality.
And when it comes to gender, the reality is that some people’s gender matches the sex they were assigned at birth and some people’s gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. In addition, some people fit cleanly into one of the two categories of the gender binary — they are female or they are male. But other people do not fit into these categories — they are non-binary.
For some cultures, this scientific and cultural reality has been known for a long time (decades, centuries, even millennia). But for English-speaking cultures, this reality hasn’t been as widely understood and accepted. So our language is catching up. This includes the newly widespread use of they/them for a single known person and the avoidance of phrases that assume a gender binary, such as “Ladies and gentlemen” or “Dear Sir or Madam.”
And it includes the use of the prefix cis in terms like cisgender along with the use of cis as a standalone word, as in, “My colleague assumed that I’m cis, and I didn’t correct him.”
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Like many English prefixes, cis has its roots in Latin.
Cis means “on this side.”
Trans means “on the other side” or “across” or “going beyond.”
English speakers are more familiar with trans as a prefix. That’s because it’s in common words such as transparent (originally “shining through”), transform (“change in shape,” that is, cross over into a new shape), and transgress (originally “go across”). So we get the feeling of crossing over.
While many English speakers might not have encountered cis before the word cisgender, the prefix has been widely used in scientific writing, especially in chemistry, where it is used to described molecular configurations. It may feel and sound new, but using cis to mean some form of “on this side” is not an innovation.
What is new(er) is its now widespread use to refer to gender.
Photo from the Gender Spectrum Collection https://genderspectrum.vice.com/
We can think of the wider use of the word cisgender as a retronym. A retronym is a word or phrase that is coined because of new knowledge or new developments.
The innovation of the electric guitar led to the retronym acoustic guitar. Before electric guitars, all guitars were acoustic, so there was no need for additional terminology in order to be precise.
The innovation of the digital clock and digital watch led to the retronyms analog clock and analog watch.
The innovation of electronic mail led to the retronym snail mail.
World War II led to what was formerly called “The Great War” now being called World War I.
So now that there is broader cultural knowledge of the realities of gender, we’re using cisgender. The use of cisgender also follows some of my other principles of inclusive language: “Draw people in” (as opposed to marginalizing them), “Incorporate other perspectives,” and “Prevent erasure.”
After electric guitars were invented, people started saying both acoustic guitar and electric guitar — this was the only way to be sure that someone else would understand precisely what was being referred to.
Well, it’s the same with gender. Now that we’re referring to transgender experiences and realities, we also want to be precise and refer to cisgender experiences and realities.
It’s not that being cisgender is “normal” and that being transgender is “anomalous” or “abnormal.”
It’s that more than one kind of gender reality exists. And using precise terminology to reflect that these multiple realities exist is the accurate — and inclusive — thing to do.
Industry-leading inclusive language expert Suzanne Wertheim facilitates in-person and virtual inclusive language trainings, as well as offering empowering and educational inclusive language keynotes.
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